Saturday, April 30, 2005

Can you tell I'm struggling for picture material? These flowers have a plastic look to them that I find oddly appealing.

Next week is the Cottonwood Art Festival though. Plenty of photo material there. The John Gaar Band is playing both Saturday & Sunday, May 7 & 8th. I met his wife on a plane last year on the way back from JavaOne. She was a vendor. I was attending. She was really cool and made the plane trip fun for a change. They moved from Somewhere in California to Austin for a change of pace & hopefully luck. I think it's working out. We'll be there for the opening Saturday at 10:30am (yes, that early - he plays until 11:45am) in order to see him. I'll have my Astros hat on & Noah will be with us. Stop by & say hi.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

This is my brother at probably around 6 or 7 years old. I'm not sure really. I love this picture. The movie wasn't too bad either. He was born in 71, and CE was released in 77 according to IMDB.

He used to "wall his eyes" like that & it would drive my parents crazy. If I could have done it, I would have. I tried, but my eyes wouldn't go over that far. I just got a headache. He got to where he would just unconciously do it, I swear... it seemed that way anyway. Basically when he was bored. Hard to keep his mind busy with positive things to this day. Hell, who can?

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Each summer around June 1st, I take a trip to the White River in Arkansas to fish for trout. We use a guide, so it's real "easy" fishing. I'll be leaving in a month for this place. It is beautiful.

Here's my buddy Chris with a typical trout. We keep a few rainbows, but everything else goes back in the river. Chris is the one sitting down. They both have a mouth like a trout, so I thought you might be confused.

Here's another morning shot. The time in the EXIF data appears to be correct... 8am on 6/2/2001. That appears to be a Saturday, so it's the 2nd day of fishing. Ah... I can't wait.

This is a view from the porch from Fulton's Lodge, a past haunt. Actually, I highly recommend it if you are a fly fisherman. We stayed at Sportsman's Resort the last couple of years. Kind of low budget / no frills, except for the cost of the guide.

If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend doing some fishing. And if Gator OR Buzz are guiding at Sportsman's, they are your best bet. I believe Gator is retired now, but comes out occasionally for the right price.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

They say my grandfather used to walk 10 miles from his house on the head of Ellijay to her house on Rabbit Creek to court her. Yes, those are the real names of the little communities around Franklin, NC. Ok, maybe there was a wagon ride or two... but you can bet NO cars. From what I've heard, his hair color in this picture was the same color as mine. Red.

I can see the house she was born in from my parent's deck. They moved "back home" after my dad retired. I've been in that old house a couple of times. It was eventually sold & the new owners seem to be taking good care. I may ask for a tour next time I'm there. I was born in Texas, but both my parents are from this same small town. They moved to Texas in 66 and I was born in 67.

My grandmother is still living but is in a nursing home. She has good & bad days. My grandfather died several years ago. God bless them both.

The same day we went to take Bluebonnet pictures, I made the wife drive through theTexas Sculpture Garden in Frisco. I did an earlier post on it. I couldn't get her to get out & walk around... we were to beat from earlier. I want to go back & do funny pics in front of the statues. My wife hates getting her picture taken, but she's getting used it it with the new Nikon D70.

A big fish that appears to be eating a house. Sorry, no names. Click on the picture to see all sizes at flickr.com.

This one reminds me of flowers. The iron petals opening towards the sun.

This could be a piece of office equipment.

People dancing? These were scattered across the lawn.

Is this a Kingfisher? I need to get out of the car & go read the signs. They have the artist & piece name.

This is either some people standing or a bunch of guitars in a corner, I can't decide.

Ok, we all know what this looks like. Wife thought it looked like Marie's sculpture from Everybody Loves Raymond.

A Horned Toad... I love it.

Next time I'll actually get out of the car & shoot the signs in front of each piece.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

There is an open field near my home that I drive by everyday. Last year I noticed a variety of flowers growing just back off the road around some newly sprouted trees. I decided to go and give this place a personal visit this morning. The area is fenced off but has a very convenient break near a power transformer. I parked my car there & entered cautiously. There are no trespassing signs everywhere, but I generally ignore those if I have my camera. Much of this land was recently purchased for a new Presby hospital.

This was the flower that got me motivated to look. The wife & I had correctly identified it at a distance on a drive-by as a buttercup. These were huge. As always you can see the original on flickr.com by clicking any picture. This might make you want to sneeze.

I believe this is an Indian Blanket. I couldn't get a bunch of them together, which gives a "tapestry" look.

Not sure what this is, but I liked it. I think it might have started out without those leaves protruding through the flowers, but that's a guess. They all looked this way.

These are the flowers off an unidentified but very familiar bush. (that can be a funny statement... think about it)

I'm going to keep an eye on it.

Yellow.

Okay, here's where I think it gets interesting. These are irises according to the wife.

and this one...

and this one.

There were probably 25 or 30 of these growing around this area. All coming up around trees that were obviously planted in rows forming the outlines of yards. I am going to have to do some research & see how long it's been since there were houses here.

The irises were the reason for the ? in the title. Not really a wildflower here... or are they?

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Yes, I made it this year. Last year I missed the best game eva, but never again. Of course they lost this year, but there are 162 games in a season. I could see it coming... my loss sensing skills are second to none since I was born in Houston and lived through years of oiler & astro torment. We started at Chris' house, drove to pick up tickets at Preston & 635, then to pickup one more person. This was my designated driver. (at least on the way)

Here's part of our group waiting near mockingbird & 35 for someone to change clothes. That was the last stop then we were finally off to the game.

It was supposed to be a more civilized version of our prior opening days. It was no different. Beer, beer, beer and more beer. Don't worry, we had designated drivers. We started with a tailgate party with hotdogs & burgers of course. This is Todd, the cook, talking to upchuck girl before the game. I can' remember her name (no reason to) and just remember her puking outside the car after the game.

Here's a shot of Bentley.

This is the very ugly Chris who I've known since 1987.

The truck doors served fine as urinal cover.

Oh yeah, there was a baseball game too. We ended up on the home run porch. I hate sitting up there... we were planning better seats but I guess someone complained so we went cheap again. Next year I'm buying my own tickets and we'll split up after the tailgate party. I was able to shoot at 300mm and get some ok shots. I would have liked to have been closer though. I'm used to better seats. Enough whining.

I think this is Blalock getting brushed back. (below)

Angels right-fielder.

Maybe Blalock again?

Play at the plate.

Here's another shot of Bentley.

Play at 1st.

Continued play at 1st.

And that was that. The Rangers lost after leading through the late innings. We ended up tailgating for 2 hours after the game, which pretty much wore me out.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

He owns the company that does some of our yardwork. I say some, because the neighbor kid is supposed to do it, but I find that I have to supplement his service with extras from G. It is interesting to note that G once worked for the company, then bought it outright & does a much better job. I hadn't seen him in a few months. He just got back from winter in Mexico with his family.

He did our beds last week & stopped by today to settle the bill. He was in his Chevy Silverado with the custom paint job of the sea. I love the paint job on this truck. He says it's 5 years old and he's about to have it touched up. Some place in McKinney, TX did the work.

the hood

the tailgate

I think it rocks. Remember, to each his own. He thinks it is art. I'm inclined to agree.

Monday, April 04, 2005

We went to the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday. It was ok, except for the crowds. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I had hoped, and didn't get any good ones of my son. Very disappointing. That was our 1st trip. Next time it will be valet parking & we'll have a picnic basket with us. As always, you can click on these to see the full size image.

I can feel my nose starting to run already...

We took the shuttle bus... it was filled with the sound of sniffles on the way back. Allergies were in full force.

I'd say this is my favorite shot. The tulips were already starting to look a bit old, but the red is still appealing.